Historical Marker

Willa Brown Chappell (1906-1992)

Barren County Courthouse lawn, Glasgow · Glasgow · Barren

Kentucky marker

Inscription

This Glasgow native was the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license in the U.S., 1937. That year, she also earned masters degree from Northwestern Univ. She was first African American officer in Civil Air Patrol(1941) & first American woman to hold both a mechanic’s license & commercial

pilot’s license (1943).

[Reverse]

Co-founder of National Airmen’s Association of America, which worked to get African Americans into U.S. Air Force. In 1940, she co-founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics which trained black pilots. Some of these pilots became part of the Tuskegee Airmen. She was influential in the integration of the U.S. military in 1948. Presented by the Glasgow B&PW Club

Dedicated July 20, 2013.

Location

AddressBarren County Courthouse lawn, Glasgow
CityGlasgow
CountyBarren

Sources


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